Will You Come Out to Play? – an invitation from Mitchell Kyd

If the doctor told me I only had six months to live, I would type faster. That line, although not quite verbatim, comes from author and biochemist Isaac Asimov but it sums up how passionate I often feel about the need to get my thoughts on paper. I have to admit that I didn’t excavate that quote on my own; it followed me home from somewhere — the WordPress site, maybe, or better yet, possibly from another blogger I’ve started to follow, Cristian Mihia. He’s at the front end of his writing career but is doing some amazing things. He just popped onto my blog one random day and left a “like.” I’m so glad he did because as a writer, he knows what I know: our stories are important. So here I am back with my same old question: Who’s writing your stories?

Wilson College (Chambersburg, PA) made my day one June afternoon when they called to invite me to teach an enrichment class this fall and now I get to present my favorite writing workshop in a new venue. I’ve had such great feedback from so many of you about my own crazy, true stories — the Path Valley Hotel series in particular –and now I’m asking if you would like to come play with me while we work together to shake the dust off your memories.

This workshop runs the last four Wednesdays in October, (10th, 17th, 24th and 31st), 6:30 to 8:30 pm on the Wilson College campus. You can register on-line at http://www.wilson.edu and then click through the Personal Enrichment links. You can also call the Admissions office 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at 800-421-8402 or you can e-mail the program director at mary.foltz@wilson.edu. Cost is $65.

The class size is limited to 15 and one of the people already registered is a 77-year-old man who called the college to ensure he could sit in the front row because he is hard of hearing. He also asked if he could use a tape recorder because he has tremors. This guy is a stranger to me but I’m hoping to change that. I’m thinking he must have some powerful stories to tell and I can’t wait to watch them unfold.

Here’s the class description, directly from the Wilson brochure: Who’s Writing Your Stories? If you can write a grocery list, you can write a personal story with the help of this four-session playshop. Because we are no longer a culture of oral storytellers, our stories are lost in just two generations if we don’t write them down. Whether silly, poignant, outrageous or full of truths, we all have stories to tell. Don’t struggle with the idea of writing your life story; begin by writing the stories of your life. Consider signing up with a friend or family member who can reflect and create with you as you get in-class guidance and personal coaching between sessions. Your finished product will make a unique and personal gift for someone on your holiday list. Notebooks will be provided.

If this sounds like fun to you or feels like something you really need to do, will you come out to play with me?